Soccer, Mardi Gras and a seafood feast are among events in Can’t Miss Alabama
Birmingham Legion will face Hartford Athletic at Protective Stadium April 10. (Kamp Fender / Birmingham Legion)
Start planning for a super, exciting weekend.
Birmingham Legion FC vs. Atlanta United FC
The Magic City’s professional soccer team, Birmingham Legion FC, is back and ready to pack Protective Stadium. The team’s first game in its new home is Sunday, Feb. 20 at 2:30 p.m. against Major League Soccer powerhouse Atlanta United FC. Come check out the new stadium and enjoy great ticket prices. Tickets are available online. Call 205-791-7145, download the Legion FC app or follow @bhmlegion on social media for more information.
Reba McEntire in concert
The Reba: Live in Concert tour with special guest Tenille Townes arrives on Thursday, Feb. 24 at Legacy Arena at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex. All seats are reserved. Check here for ticket prices. Learn more about the tour here.
New Edition in concert
New Edition: The Culture Tour with special guests Charlie Wilson and Jodeci is rolling into Legacy Arena, on Saturday, Feb. 19. Buy tickets here. See the website for more information.
Orange Beach Seafood Festival and Car Show
The 30th annual Orange Beach Seafood Festival and Car Show will be at The Wharf Saturday, Feb. 19 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The festival is a major fundraising event for Makos Academics Arts and Athletics Club (MAAAC) and Orange Beach schools. Culinary selections will include crawfish pistols, crawfish boil, shrimp tacos, fish, red beans and rice, surf and turf burgers, seafood gumbo topped with fried okra, crab cakes and crab bites, and other dishes. There will be live music on the Mako and Main Street stages, arts and crafts booths and a golf cart raffle. The car show will feature antique, classic and hot rod vehicles. Registration fee for the car show is $50 in advance and $75 the day of the show. Awards will be presented to the top 10 cars. Register here for the car show. Click here for the entertainment lineup.
Mardi Gras Mobile
The historic celebration of Mardi Gras is underway through Tuesday, March 1 in downtown Mobile and across the area. Enjoy more than two weeks of festivities, with 40 parades scheduled and more. Follow this link for the complete schedule.
Birmingham Bottling: Soft Drinks in the Magic City exhibit
Have you ever heard of Mission Orange, Try-Me Cola, National Dope, NuGrape, Jersey Creme, Glee Ola, Gay Ola or Wiseola? Discover these brands and more at Vulcan Park & Museum’s latest exhibit: Birmingham Bottling: Soft Drinks in the Magic City. Presented by Coca-Cola Bottling Co. United, Birmingham Bottling tells a comprehensive story about Birmingham’s soft drink history, complete with the inventors and innovators, marketers and visionaries. Visitors can view the Birmingham History Center’s collection of vintage bottles from companies including Coca-Cola and Buffalo Rock through January 2023.
Join us at the table: A talk with Kate Wood, author of ‘Her Daily Bread’
Kate Wood, author of “Her Daily Bread” and founder of the award-winning blog Wood and Spoon, will be at the Little Professor bookstore in Homewood for its first author event of the year. “Her Daily Bread” is a 365-day devotional featuring daily reflections and 52 delicious recipes that promise to nourish the body and soul. During the event, guests will hear a moderated conversation with the author and have the opportunity to ask questions. They can purchase the book and have it signed, and enjoy snacks that come straight from the book’s pages. Registration is limited. Tickets are $25 and do not include a copy of the book. Register online or call 205-870-7461. For more information, email hi@littleprofessorhomewood.com. The event is Sunday, Feb. 20 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. The book is also available at littleprofessorhomewood.com. Learn more about Wood and her new book here.
Join Kate Wood at the Little Professor in Homewood Feb. 20. (Brittany Dunn / Alabama NewsCenter)
Birmingham Civil Rights Institute
Celebrate Black History Month at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute (BCRI) with virtual and in-person events. Explore a variety of exhibits, including the Human Rights Gallery, Movement Gallery, Confrontation Gallery, Barriers Gallery, the Odessa Woolfolk Gallery, the “Courage Under Fire” exhibit of photos from the burning of the Freedom Riders’ bus in Anniston and “Remembering 4 Little Girls: A Gallery of Creative Expressions,” an exhibit of student works inspired by the Spike Lee film. BCRI is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Southern Museum of Flight
The Tuskegee Airmen exhibit is being featured this month at the Southern Museum of Flight. This diorama display honoring Alabama’s famed Tuskegee Airmen is more than an exhibit. It is a spotlight shining on a significant period of American history, and this tribute highlights an extraordinary group of men who continue to provide inspiration for anyone who dares to dream. The exhibit features several World War II-era trainers, including a North American AT-6 Texan, a Vultee BT-13B Valiant and a Fairchild PT-19 Cornell. To learn more, email info@southernmuseumofflight.org. The museum is at 4343 73rd St. N. in Birmingham.
A.G. Gaston Conference
The two-day conference in Birmingham returns to in-person this year, with engaging panels and programs open to aspiring entrepreneurs, business owners, educators, elected officials, corporate leaders, community advocates and anyone passionate about African American economic empowerment. Featured speakers include Andre M. Perry, senior fellow at The Brookings Institution; Autumn Kyles, CEO of Detroit Dough; Cheryl McKissack Daniel, president and CEO of McKissack & McKissack; and Odessa Woolfolk. The curation of the conference was inspired by the life and legacy of the late Arthur George (A.G.) Gaston, a successful Black businessman in Alabama during the Jim Crow period. He amassed a fortune of more than $40 million from an enterprise spanning communications, real estate and insurance. Given the title “Entrepreneur of the Century” by Black Enterprise Magazine, Gaston was behind the famed A.G. Gaston Motel, Citizen Federal Savings and Loan, Booker T. Washington Broadcasting and more in downtown Birmingham. The conference will be Feb. 22-23. CDC guidelines and protocols will be enforced. To register for the conference, visit aggastonconference.biz.
Birmingham Restaurant Week
From fine dining to down-home cookin’, enjoy a special breakfast, lunch and/or dinner prix-fixe menu ranging from $5 to $50 per person. Birmingham Restaurant Week (BRW), known as Birmingham’s premier culinary and beverage event, aims to support local restaurants by giving people incentives to the city’s dynamic food scene, one bite at a time. The winter edition of BRW will be Feb. 17- 26 with about 40 participating restaurants. To safely serve patrons, to-go and curbside options as well as traditional dine-in options will be available. There will also be two events to explore and get your fill of gourmet foods, craft cocktails and wine pairings. Wine-O-logy, a wine flight tasting event with fantastic food and live entertainment, will be Tuesday, Feb. 22 at The Fennec on 2nd Ave. S., and the Magic City Mixology, a fiesta-style cocktail flight tasting event, will be Tuesday, March 1 at Events at Haven on 6th Ave. S. For detailed information, visit bhamrestaurantweek.com.
28 Days of Black life, history and culture
Black History Month celebrations are underway in the city of Mobile. Events include daily social media posts of Mobile Black history facts @mobileparksandrec, an art exhibit by local seniors at the Connie Hudson Center Art Gallery, open Monday through Friday, and a showing of the the movie “42” on Wednesday, Feb. 23 at the James Seals Community Center. To learn more, visit this website.
Equal Justice Initiative
Discover Black history at the newly expanded Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) Legacy Museum: From Enslavement to Mass Incarceration in Montgomery. The museum examines the legacy of slavery, from its introduction in the New World in the 17th century to ongoing issues related to mass incarceration. The Legacy Museum includes a welcome center, gift shop and the popular restaurant Pannie-George’s Kitchen. A few blocks away is EJI’s National Memorial for Peace and Justice and Peace and Justice Memorial Center. Follow this link to read more about the Legacy Museum.
